Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. I, Part 32

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors
Number of Pages: 856

USA > Missouri > Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. I > Part 32

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Bartlett. Eayre Oliphant, mine oper- ator, was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, February 10, 1836. His parents were Nathan and Sarah Ann (Oliphant) Bartlett. The father was born in Little Egg Harbor, and reared in Burlington County, New Jersey. He was for some years a building contractor in

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Philadelphia. In 1837, he removed to New Lisbon, New Jersey, where for ten years he was engaged as a miller. Ile then removed to Newark, New Jersey, where he was placed in charge of the Mechanical Zinc Works, which he successfully managed for six years. In 1853, at the solicitation of Gilbert Wetherall, he went to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he built the Lehigh Zinc Works, and became the superintendent, serving in that capacity for ten years. He afterward became financially in- terested in the establishment of the Bartlett Zinc Works, at Bergen Point, New Jersey, which he superintended for several years, and with which he maintained a financial and ad- visory relation until his death in 1896. His wife, the mother of E. O. Bartlett, was a native of Burlington County, New Jersey, and was educated at Westtown, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Of their nine children, Eayre Oliphant, was the oldest. Ilis education was acquired in the common schools in the home neighborhood, and in an academy, at West- town, near Westchester. Pennsylvania. His studies were ended when he was about sixteen years of age, and he became an employe in the zinc works, superintended by his father, under whose instruction he mastered all the details of manufacturing as then practiced, besides having the great advantage of participation in all the experimentation practiced by the elder Bartlett, and cultivating, in a large measure unconsciously, those habits of observation and investigation, which in after years gave him distinction as one of the most successful and useful inventors of his day. Ile left the parent establishment to enter the Keystone Zinc Works in Blair County, Pennsylvania, as superintendent, a position which he oc- cupied for some years. In 1870, he removed to Birmingham, New Jersey, where for six years he managed a gristmill. In the fall of 1876. he located permanently in Joplin, and engaged in lead and zinc smelting, a large part of his effort being directed to perfecting the process of utilizing the waste fumes from the lead furnaces, and converting them into the most enduring pigment known. This pro- cess, known as the Bartlett & Lewis Process, is that employed in the works of the Picher Lead Company, at Joplin, Missouri, of which Mr. Bartlett has been the general manager for many years, and to whose successful persever- ance and inventive genius the works owe much of their reputation. The method pursued is

the collection of the fumes from the many "Scotch-eyes" in the smelting department; their conveyance by pipes to a condensing apparatus, the subsequent elimination of all foreign substances, and consequent production of absolutely pure white lead, ready for ship- ment and use. For marine use, particularly in work upon the hull and outside cabin work of ocean-going vessels, it is superior to any other pigment known, being the only one not seriously affected by salt water. The plant of the Picher Lead Company is the only one of its kind in the United States, and the only similar establishments are those at Bristol, England. The Bartlett & Lewis process has been eagerly sought by other manufacturers. and Mr. Bartlett has been frequently ap- proached with a view to the command of his services elsewhere, but his entire interest con- tinnes with the establishment which witnessed his incessant labor, and where he won the fame which rewarded his industry and in- ventive genius. He is also interested in many other industrial enterprises. He is the presi- dent of the Cottonwood Hollow Mining Com- pany. the Monarch Mining Company, the Bingo Mining Company, the Joplin Prospec- ting Company, and the Muncie Mining Com- pany ; vice president of the Jersey Land and Mining Company ; a director of the Western Patent Company, of Colorado, and of the Miners' Bank of Joplin. He has ever been warmly interested in all movements looking toward the material and moral wellbeing of Joplin, and has contributed largely to the use- fulness and success of the Joplin Business Men's Club, an organization whose member- ship includes a large majority of the most active and influential citizens of the place, drawn together to advance business and social interests, and whose influence has extended throughout the entire mining district ; of this body he has been president. His interest in educational affairs has been active, and at an important period he was elected by unanimous vote to the presidency of the Joplin Board of Education. Mr. Bartlett, was, in Civil War times, a staunch Union man, and served as an emergency man in the Battle of Antietam. In politics he is a Democrat, and in religion was reared an orthodox Quaker. He holds membership in the Masonic order. He was married March 13, 1860, to Miss Elizabeth . 1. Lippincott, of Mt. Holly, New Jersey. Of this union were born three children. Mary

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and Sallie were twins. Mary is wife of Dr. Frank Speer, superintendent of a hospital in North Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; they have one child, Myra Ryland. Sallie is the wife of Jerome B. Grigg, an attorney, of Mt. Holly, New Jersey ; they have four children, Eliza- beth, aged 13 years; John, aged II years ; Eayre, aged 8 years, and J. B., aged 3 years. The youngest daughter, Anna Bell, married W. P. Cleveland, of Joplin, formerly of the State of New York; they have no children. Well past the meridian of life, Mr. Bartlett is as intensely active as when he was laying the foundations of his eminently useful and suc- cessful career, and gives earnest personal at- tention to all concerns entering into the vast enterprises which have grown out of a science which he has made a life study. It would be impossible to attempt to measure the property values which have come out of the affairs in which he has borne a leading part, or to number the army of men, in various walks of life, who have been advantaged thereby. But his life has been largely and widely useful, and he is to be accounted among those who are benefactors of humanity.

Barton, Abraham P., is a native of the State of Missouri, born in Platte County, and reared in Audrain County. His parents were both Kentuckians by birth. His father, Levi Barton, Esq., now residing in Howard County, Missouri, is of Scotch origin. Ilis mother, now deceased, was of German and English families. She was a daughter of Abraham Pool, a pioneer to the State of Missouri from Tennessee. The subject of this sketch is the first born son of Levi and Malinda C. Barton, who reared a family of eleven children, their married life extending over a period of more than fifty-six years, the decease of the noble mother in April, 1900, being the first death by sickness in the immediate family in all the fifty- six years. Abraham's early life was passed in the hardy and sinew-developing pursuits of a farm life. Until his nineteenth year he had only the advantages of a few American Tract Society books, and about three months in the year attendance at school in the old log school- house one and a half miles from his home. At the age of nineteen years he left the paternal roof, never having studied English grammar, with a resolute determination to become edut- cated, although he had not a dollar to begin on. With indomitable energy and unwaver-

ing purpose, he fought his way through the State University, asking no one for any as- sistance, except an opportunity to work and earn what he received. In 1873, he was grad- uated from the Missouri State University, with two diplomas, having taken the normal along with the regular collegiate course. Five years later he was awarded the master's degree. After graduation he studied law and was admitted to the bar in Mexico, Missouri, where he began the practice of his chosen profession. After- ward he was engaged in school work for some years, becoming prominent in his State as a teacher, principal and lecturer. In 1874 he was married to Miss C. Josephine Wigginton, of Audrain County, Missouri. In 1882 he with his family located permanently in Kan- sas City, Missouri, where they now reside. There, on the 9th day of May, 1882, he opened an office for the practice of law. He con- tinued the pursuit of the legal profession until in 1896, when he finally withdrew from active practice, his publishing and journalistic work. begun in 1894, having grown to such propor- tions as to require his entire time and attention. In 1894 he, with the assistance of his wife. began the publication of "The Life," a weekly metaphysical journal, which now circulates in every civilized country on earth. Mr. Barton has written and published several books of a metaphysical and critical character. Among them are "The Bible, an Historical and Critical Study"; "The A B C of Truth, being Twenty- six Basic Lessons in the Science of Life" : "The Bible and Eternal Punishment, Proving from the Original Languages that the Bible does not Teach the Doctrine": "Faith's Fruition"; and "Why Are We Ilere, or the Meaning and Purpose of This Incarnation." Mr. Barton is a logician, linguist and mathematician in his intellectual bent, a clear, forcible and ready writer and speaker. He lectures extensively upon the topics appertaining to the New Thought, and is a successful teacher along those lines of philosophy. In religion Mr. Barton is a fearless, progressive truth-seeker, acknowledging no limitations of creed or dogma and refusing personal leaders. To Mr. and Mrs. Barton four children have been born : Vivien Ethel, Homer Raphael, Mabel Italia and Ralph Waldo Emerson, all living. except Mabel. Mr. Barton loves his work as journalist, publisher and lecturer, and believes he has only begun a career of great use- fulness.

I am yours very sincerely A.P.Barton.

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BARTON COUNTY.

Barton County .- A county in the southwestern part of the State, 120 miles south of Kansas City. It is bounded on the north by Vernon County, on the east by Cedar and Dade Counties, on the south by Jasper County, and on the west by the State of Kansas. It has an area of 612 square miles, four-fifthis of which is elevated prairie, sufficiently undulat- ing for drainage, and not too broken for con- venient cultivation. The soil is a dark sandy loam, rich and productive, producing the cereals, grasses and fruits bountifully. The prairie is dotted with groves of the native woods, hickory, oak, lind, walnut, locust and sycamore. Extending through the county, east and west, a few miles north of Lamar, is the Ozark Divide, which sends the water courses on the one side toward the Missouri River, and those on the other side toward White River. In the northeast is Ilorse Creek ; in the north, Little Drywood, with the forks of Big Drywood in the northwest. Coon Creek follows the east half of the southern boundary of the county. Muddy Creek, a feeder of Spring River, enters the southeast corner, and in its meanderings through the south half of the county, traverses a distance of thirty-five miles to find its leaving point in the southwest. West Fork and Pettis Creek are in the central south. The bottom lands bordering these streams contain a great depth of rich alluvial soil which is wonderfully pro- ductive. The climate is salubrious, peculiarly adapted to stock-raising, and young cattle and hogs have run at large in the valleys through- out the winter. Coal underlies the greater part of the county, and large mines are profit- ably worked at various places. Limestone and sandstone of superior quality is quarried in places ; the latter is found in various shades of color, and has been used in the new Barton County courthouse, the Gulf Railway build- ings in Springfield, in churches in Joplin, and in other important edifices. The principal towns are Lamar, the county seat : Golden City, Minden Mines, and Liberal. Railways traversing the county are the Missouri Pacific, the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Memphis, and the Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf. In 1898 the principal surplus products were : Wheat, 12,292 bushels; corn, 10,576 bushels; oats, 30,954 bushels ; flax, 64,856 bushels ; hay, 34,- 317.400 pounds : flour 205,456 pounds: ship stuff, 252,000 pounds; grass seed, 435,940 pounds ; poultry 329,943 pounds ; eggs, 35,-

640 dozen; small fruits, 13,686 crates; cattle 9,196 head ; hogs, 23,900 head; horses and mules, 1.341 head : sheep. 1740 head ; hides, 47,899 pounds ; lumber and logs, 74,200 feet; coal, 13,022 tons.

Barton County was created December 12, 1855, and was named in honor of David Bar- ton, one of the first two United States Senators from Missouri. Its territory was taken from Jasper County, and this was accomplished mainly through the effort of George E. Ward. The temporary seat of justice was at his house on the site of the present city of Lamar, which was chosen as the permanent seat the same year. Allen Petty was county seat cominis- sioner and building commissioner ; Mr. Fisher was associated with him in the former capac- ity. In 1858 a temporary frame courthouse was erected, and in 1860 it was replaced with a brick building which was burned during the war. In 1868, a frame courthouse was built on the west side of the square, at a cost of over $5,000. In 1889 was completed a spacious and handsome edifice, of pressed brick and Barton County stone, costing $32,500, stand- ing in the center of the public square. Wrong- doers were sent into neighboring counties, mostly to Vernon, for confinement, until 1871, when a brick jail was erected at a cost of $7,600. The appointed county judges, at the organization of the county, were William H. Brown, James Guest and J. G. Hutton. Joseph H. Brown was sheriff, Branch T. Mor- gan was county and circuit clerk, and George E. Ward was treasurer. In 1866 William H. Grier, Elijah Buffington and John Main were elected county judges ; Emery Q. Con- dict, county clerk ; W. A. Norris, sheriff : C. R. Logan, treasurer : William B. Smedley, probate judge ; and L. M. Timmonds, circuit clerk. The first session of the circuit court was held at the house of George E. Ward, Judge John R. Chenault presiding. There were no courts after 1861 until 1866, when Judge John C. Price presided with Branch T. Morgan as clerk, the session being held in open air, all public buildings having been de- stroyed by Quantrell's Band. The public records had been thrown into a well by a citizen ; they were afterward recovered, but were so damaged that transcription was neces- sary. The only legal execution was that of Amos Avery, for the murder of James A. Miles, in 1892; both were strangers passing through the county. Little is known of the history of

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the pioneers. The name remains of one Gil Roup, who pursued the Indians in the neigh- borhood with relentless and deadly hatred. He left the country with his family to go to Cali- fornia, and the entire party were slain by the race which he had persecuted. The earliest residents of the county known, are those already named in connection with its organi- zation. George E. Ward built a corn and saw mill, and sold goods in a log house, on the site of Lamar, in 1852. The early postoffices were: Lamar, J. C. Parry, postmaster : Dry- wood, Morris C. Baker, postmaster ; and Coon Creek, Robert Stanley, postmaster. A weekly mail was brought on horseback from Inde- pendence, by way of Papinsville. William Seals taught the first school, in 1854, two miles south of Lamar. Little attention was paid to education, and the few schools existing were closed during the war. The first school after- ward was at Lamar, in 1866, taught by Reeson Bovard. Between 1866 and 1869. schools were established at five other points in the county. About 1866, W. H. Avery became county commissioner of schools. In 1898 there were in the county 102 schools, 147 teachers, and 5.988 pupils: the permanent school fund was $77,708.10.

The first religious services were held in the old courthouse at Lamar, when a sermon was read by a layman, there being no minister in the place. The First Baptist Church of Lamar erected a house of worship in 1870. the first edifice for religions purposes. All the leading denominations are now represented by prosperous societies at various points. The town of Liberal was incorporated in 1881, by a colony of Spiritualists, who maintain a school, Sunday school, normal school and business institute, occupying buildings erected at a cost of nearly $6.000. The first paper was the "U'niverse," published at Lamar, by Grier & Farmer ; the year of its institution is uncer- tain, but it was prior to the war. The county was sparsely populated during the war, and occupies small place in the history of that time. In 1861. Major Randall recruited a company which entered the Confederate service under General Rains. Captain 1. N. DeLong organ- ized a company of Union Home Guards, which served but a short time, its members soon entering permanent regiments. Many raids were made through the county, and there was much pillaging and destruction of property, and occasional murders. The real develop-

ment of the county dates from the establish- ment of its mining interests, which followed the completion of the Kansas City, Pittsburg & Gulf Railway, in 1880. The Missouri Pacific Railway was completed the following year. In 1871 the Barton County Agricul- tural and Mechanical Society was incorporated and through its annual exhibitions has ac- complished much for improvement in agri- cultural concerns. All material interests are in healthful condition, and the county ranks high in all that makes a prosperous and orderly community. In 1900 the population was 18.253.

Barton, David, first United States Sen- ator from Missouri, and otherwise prominent in the early political history of the State. was born December 14. 1783. in Tennessee. He was descended from Scotch ancestry. His grandfather was Joshua Barton, whose parents settled in Maryland in the latter part of the seventeenth century, and his father was Isaac Barton, a prominent Baptist clergyman of the early days. David Barton graduated from Greenville College, Tennessee, and then en- tered the law office of Judge Anderson, a dis- tinguished jurist of that State, from whom he received the training which aided in making him one of the ablest lawyers of his day In 1800, David Barton and his two brothers, Isaac and Joshua, all lawyers, came to Mis- souri, David settling in St. Charles, and his brothers in St. Louis. Isaac Barton soon re- turned to his native State. Joshua became United States District Attorney in St. Louis. and was killed in a duel with Thomas C. Rec- tor, on Bloody Island, in 1823. (See "Duel- ing.") David Barton was deeply affected by this tragedy and sharply criticised the actors in the affair. When he first settled at St. Charles there was little law business to be done there and for a time he taught school. On the breaking out of the War of 1812, he entered the United States Army, and at the close of his military service, he established himself in the practice of his profession at St. Louis. He became Attorney General of the Territory of Missouri in 1813. upon its territorial organi- zation under its present name, and held the office for two years, when he was elected to the St. Louis circuit bench. In 1818. the Ter- ritorial Legislature then meeting in St. Louis, he became Speaker of the House of Represen- tatives. In 1820, in the same city, he was

yours with colecção y afections Barton

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chosen president of the first Constitutional Convention without opposition, and it was his hand that wrote the constitution adopted by that body, which was displaced by the Drake Constitution in 1866. In the first State Legislature, in 1821, he was chosen United States Senator by acclamation. In the same session, after a contest continuing for three days, Thomas I1. Benton was elected by the vote of a sick man, Daniel Ralls, who was brought into the chamber on a litter at the instigation of Barton, a friend of Benton. Sen- ator Barton was for ten years a member of that august body in which his colleague, Sen- ator Benton, served for thirty years. Their relationship toward each other was peculiarly interesting, and toward the last, when they had become somewhat unfriendly, there were incidents approaching the dramatic. In poli- tics David Barton was a Whig, while Benton was a Jackson Democrat. In the congress- ional session of 1820-30, the debate occurred upon the famous Foote resolution, in which Daniel Webster delivered his "Reply to Hayne," which became a classic in American literature. The Foote resolution looked to limiting the sale of public lands to those then on the market, and abolishing the office of Surveyor General. "There were giants in those days." Andrew Jackson was president, John C. Calhoun was vice president, presiding over the Senate, upon whose floor met in mighty contest Daniel Webster, David Bar- ton. Thomas H. Benton, and many other bright intellectual lights. The debate upon the resolution drifted into personalities, and touched upon the Virginia resolutions, the Hartford convention, the slavery question, the Constitution, and the compact of the Union. During its progress, February 9, 1830, Senator Barton began his powerful and scathing arraignment and excoriation of his colleague, Senator Benton, in a speech of four hours, which critics have pronounced equal to Webster's reply to Hayne. This great speech appears in Gale and Seaton's Register of De- bates in Congress, Volume 6, Part I, pages 146-159. It bristles with repartee, sarcasm and humor, abounds in constitutional law and historical reference, is adorned with rhetorical gems, and glows with oratorical fire and forensic power. It is curious to note the re- sentment of Senator Benton, as evidenced in the fact that in his "Thirty Years' View." he makes no mention of Senator Barton except in

records of votes. It is mainly for this reason that Senator Barton has remained compara- tively unknown, while the personality of Sen- ator Benton stands out conspicuously. After leaving the Senate, Barton was State Senator from St. Louis, and afterward circuit judge at Boonville, Missouri. He was small in stat- ure, vivacious in temperament, and kind and charitable to a fault. Ilis hair was almost black, with a brownish shade, his eyes were brown or hazel, and his nose was slightly Ro- man. Ile was never married. R. M. Barton, now judge of the Superior Court of Tennes ce. is a great-nephew, and Levi Barton, of How- ard County, Missouri, is a second cousin. David Barton died at Boonville, Missouri, September 22, 1837. Ile was there buried, in the old town cemetery, and a gray stone monument was erected over his grave by his admiring neighbors. Upon this was briefly outlined his distinguished career, and an es- timate of the man, the expression of hearts filled with loving appreciation : "A profound jurist, an honest and able statesman, a just and benevolent man." The remains were afterward removed to the new cemetery, and over them was erected a fine marble shaft. The old monument was placed in the imniver- sity campus at Columbia, by the side of that of Thomas Jefferson, and its unveiling took place in June, 1890. in the presence of thon- sands of people. Among the speakers upon that occasion was the venerable editor and benefactor of the best of the institutions of Missouri. Colonel William F. Switzler, to whom more than to any other is due the credit of bringing out of oblivion David Barton, and giving him his proper place in public sight David Barton had been called "a forgotten statesman," because his modesty and unsel- fish affection for his adopted State permitted others to reap where he had sown, and to win the applause which rightfully belonged to him. The statement of these facts, and appreciative recognition of the merit, talent and distin- guished services of one of the greatest states- men of Missouri, was eloquently expressed by Colonel Switzler. In the chamber of the House of Representatives in Jefferson City is a fine life-size oil portrait of Senator Barton, painted by C. Josephine Barton, of Kansas City, by whose husband. A. P. Barton, a rela- tive of Senator Barton, it was presented to the State. It is copied from an old oil portrait owned by Judge R. M. Barton, of Chatta-

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nooga. Tennessee, and was painted in 1822 by a French artist.

Barton, Joseph, lawyer, was born in Audrain County. Missouri, January 15, 1859. son of Levi and Malinda C. (Pool) Barton. His father, who is a farmer, is one of the pio- neers of Missouri, and at the present time (1900) is still living in Howard County, being now in the eighty-fourth year of his age. The Barton family furnished early settlers in Ken- tucky, Tennessee and Missouri, several mem- bers of which were distinguished by great abil- ities, and valuable public services, notably David Barton, United States Senator from Missouri, and author of the first constitution of the State, and Joshua Barton, one of the most brilliant lawyers of his day. John Bar- ton, the grandfather of the subject of this sketch, came from Kentucky in early times to Missouri, and settled in Boone County, where he lived to the day of his death. His father, Levi, moved from Platte to Audrain County where he lived for thirty years, and then moved to Howard County. Joseph Barton was raised on the farm, educated in the common schools and at the State University, from which he took the degree of bachelor of laws in 1886, his thesis at graduation being awarded the prize in a class contest as the most scholarly discussion of a mooted legal proposition. After leaving the university he established his home in Dawn, Livingston County, and in 1888 he was elected prosecuting attor- ney of that county. During his term of office he removed from Dawn and made his permanent home in Chillicothe. Ile discharged his duties as prosecut- ing attorney with signal ability and success. In 1893, at the end of his term as prosecutor. he was appointed city counselor, and in 1900 was appointed again to that office. As the legal adviser of his city he has made a splendid record. He has been a member of the Dem- ocratic party all his life, has served on the va- rious committees of the party ever since he settled in Chillicothe, and was never known to commit an act of disloyalty toward party plat- form or party nominees. He is a man of high character and ability. Mr. Barton was married, December 6, 1881, to Linda E. Williams, of Utica, Missouri. They have five children living.

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Encyclopedia of the history of Missouri, a compendium of history and biography for ready reference, Vol. I, Part 32

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n Publication date: 1901 Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors Number of Pages: 856

Author: Conard, Howard Louis, ed. 1n
Publication date: 1901
Publisher: New York, Louisville [etc.] The Southern history company, Haldeman, Conard & co., proprietors
Number of Pages: 856